The Junior Company Ten Years On

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Just over 10 years ago I flew to Holland to watch a troupe of dancers in their late teens and early twenties called "The Junior Company" (see The Junior Company of the Dutch National Ballet - Stadsshouwburg Amsterdam 24 Nov 2013 25 Nov 2013).  

I had come to see Michaela DePrince whom I had already mentioned several times in this blog. She had been born in Sierra Leone, the country of my late spouse and my former ward who is the nearest I have to a daughter.  I was amply rewarded for my journey because DePrince danced magnificently. But so did the other dancers some of whom are now principals or soloists in the Dutch National Ballet and other great companies.

That visit to Amsterdam was the start of many good things.  I met members of the company, parents and other relations of those members and fellow fans of the company from the Netherlands and elsewhere.  I made friends with many of them.   Yvonne Charlton visited Powerhouse Ballet.  She gave us some great classes in Liverpool, Leeds and Manchester and taught us some of her choreography.  In the miserable days of lockdown, Maria Chugai raised our spirits with two wonderful online classes and her appearance at "The Stage Door".   

On my visits to the Dutch National Ballet, I got to know the Netherlands, its cities and its people.   I learned about its history, its traditions and its view of the world.  Even though it has sounds that do not exist in our language, Dutch is actually a first cousin to English.  Had it not been for brexit which ended free movement it is more than likely that I would be living there now.  

To celebrate its 10th anniversary the Junior Company has just announced a tour of the Netherlands between 3 Feb and 17 March 2024 called quite simply Ten.  Its programme will consist of George Balanchine's Valse Fantaisie and new works by Krzysztof Pastor, Joseph Toonga, Wubkje Kuindersma and Kirsten Wicklund. This will be the first opportunity to see some of the world's most promising young dancers many of whom could be household names in a few years from now.  Every time the Junior Company renews its membership it reinvents itself as its Artistic Coordinator Ernst Meisner remarks in Astrid van Leeuwen's article.

The Dutch National Ballet's Junior Company has been so successful that other companies, including the Birmingham Royal Ballet, have followed its example.   Earlier this year I attended the launch of BRB2 and met its Artistic Coordinator Kit Holder at Elmhurst Ballet School (see An "Evening with Ashton" and the Launch of an English Junior Company  30 Jan 2023).   I was in the audience when it visited Nottingham on 28 April 2023 and was very impressed (see BRB2 in Nottingham 29 April 2023).   I am looking forward to its next tour which will take in Poole, Canterbury and Northampton in May 2024 (see BRB2: First 2024 Tour Venues Announced 26 July 2023 Birmingham Royal Ballet website).

The idea of a junior company as a bridge between vocational school and corps de ballet is an excellent one. I shall continue to support Ernst Meisner and Kit Holder in their endeavours in any way I can.